December 1, 2014

I love putting together sensory bins for the kids. This is one that I put together last Christmas for the kids during a period of time when I was pretty sick. I gave the kids something to keep them busy and let me rest on the couch and try to feel better. Because I was sick I didn't end up getting this bin posted last year, so here it is now!

Whats Inside:

Slippery Spheres (water beads)

Grow your own christmas sponges I found at the Dollar Store

Water

Cups

This is what the bin looked like soon after adding everything, as you can see the beads haven't had a chance to grow and either have the Christmas Sponges.

Once the sponges started growing the kids loved it! I guess the fact that during the winter other than baths the kids don't really get to play in the water much.

These are what the sponges looked like all grown. Very nice and festive for our Christmas Sensory Bin!

April 2, 2014

While at the store picking up last minute things for our Easter Brunch and Annual Easter Egg hunt with the cousins I cam across this kit for $.99 it came with an Easter Jiggler mold and 2 boxes of strawberry Jell-o. I planned on getting Jell-O anyway and pretty much got the mold for free since 2 boxes of Jell-o would have cost the same. So we made these cute Jell-O jigglers for the kids to eat at our Easter party.

We followed the directions on the package, for making Jell-O Jigglers and doubled each of our recipes.

Ingredients

2 ~ 16oz Jell-O Any Flavor

3 1/2 Cups ~ Boiling Water

Whisk

2 ~ 9x13 pans or 1 ~ 8x10" pan and 2 Easter Jell-O Molds

Directions

Boil 3 1/2 cups of water (add 1/2 cup for evaporation during boiling)

Once you water is boiling pour it into a separate bowl.

Slowly add 2 ~ 16oz packages of Jell-O into your water, stirring with a whisk as you add it in.

Stir the solution for about 2 minutes with your whisk.

Pour solution into a measuring cup (Makes it easier to pour into your molds).

Slowly pour solution into your Jell-O molds.

Refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

Remove Jell-O from molds easily by soaking the molds and pan in hot water for about 1 minute.

ENJOY!!!

Here is a look at the Easter Jell-O Molds we used before they were filled with Jell-O! We made 2 batches to make sure there was enough for everyone!The directions say to spray the molds with non stick cooking spray. We did it with the second batch and not with the first. I would recommend spraying the molds but VERY lightly it helps to make the Jigglers not stick to the details in the mold but if you use to much at all your jigglers get greasy.The Jell-O that came with the kit, although you could use any color to make your Easter Jell-O jugglers!Molds fill with our Jell-O solution.

***My suggestion would be to only fill your measuring cup up about 1/2 way to pour the Jell-O into the molds or the Jell-O will splatter all over and it is difficult to get into the molds.***

Place your Jell-O jigglers in the fridge to harden (around 3-4 hours) with each of the batches I made I had enough left over to make a pan of Jell-O that we were going to use cookie cutters to cut out more spring shapes. But we couldn't find the cookie cutters, so we just cut them into squares and put them on a separate plate.The Jell-O Jigglers all hardened and ready to come out! We dipped the molds in hot water for them to come out easier.

Here is the plate with the Jell-O Easter shapes on it.

Here are all of the different shapes from the Jell-O Mold set out on the plate.

This is the flower Jell-O Jiggler.

An Easter Egg Jell-O Jiggler.

A duck Jell-O JigglerA butterfly Jell-O jiggler.

Looking for ideas to put inside your kids Easter Baskets? I have put together a list of Kids Easter Basket Ideas! Stop over and check it out!

We made these simple and yummy Easter Egg Rice Krispie Treats, stop over and see the full recipe!

Every year we enjoy decorating Easter Eggs, so this year I put together a 5 days of Eater Decorating series, stop over and check out the fun, easy, and unique ways to decorate Easter Eggs.

We have been working hard this last 3 years to clean up our eating habits, eat as organic as we can, and use natural remedies. With a family of 8 that means a LOT of cooking and baking goes on in our house. I share some of our favorite recipes over on our blog. We now do monthly crock pot freezer cooking and have a healthy dinner waiting for us despite our very busy schedule. I also share about our journey using essential oils for many of our daily injuries, illnesses, and to replace toxic cleaning chemicals.

We have dealt with many different special needs which I share about over on my blog. Some of the biggest needs we deal with each day are Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder, Emotional Regulation Disorder, Speech Apraxia, Receptive and Expressive Language Deficits, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, ADHD, Cleft Lip, and Cleft Palate. This can make our house crazy and busy some days as I'm sure you can imagine. With balancing 8 hours of therapy a week and 3 kids in competitive gymnastics life is always busy around here.